Hypoglycemia. having to eat small meals every 2 hours

Hi. I am new to the site and was looking for support with a complication I have of hypoglycemia. My doctor calls it delayed dumping. I had an RNY in 2007 and did well for 2 years. he said it usually gets better but mine has not.I try to eat carefully but I have to eat every 2 hours because my blood sugar drops. Often it spikes after I eat. Both the highs and the low blood sugars give me headaches. I have also regained 25 pounds slowly since my surgery. My initial loss wass 108 pounds. I was wondering if anyone has ever experienced or heard of my symptoms. The doctors don't seem to know why this happens to me. I have to check my blood sugar often and a headache is usually the first clue  something is off..

I have had this issue from time to time and found when logging my foods my blood sugar was bottoming out when I had eaten "anything" white.  These foods shoot my count sky high and then nose dive.  Track what you eat when and how much and it may help you see a pattern on what is causing this.  Keep us posted on how you are doing.  

It's called reactive hypoglycemia and it is fairly common after RNY.  It can be easily controlled by eating a high protein, low carb diet, with some good fats.  They say you should eat a very small amount of a carb with a protein to stop and episode.  When I feel an episode coming on I usually will grab one cracker with a gob of peanut butter on it and that usually stops it.  If you are eating starchy food or drinking fruit juice when you get a episode, you are setting yourself up for another crash.  You can not treat Reactive Hypoglycemia the same as regular hypoglycemia or diabetes.  It's not the same!

Don't eat bread, crackers, pasta, sugary foods, starchy veggies like potatoes, rice, etc.  Fruit can also trigger blood sugar drops because the body reads fruit as sugar.  Try to limit fruit to one serving per day.  If you eat meat, non starchy veggies, full fat cheeses, nuts (sparingly), plain Greek yogurt (I flavor mine with a squirt of SF MIO water enhancer) every 3 to 4 hours you should not have blood sugar drops and you will lose your regain.

Thanks for this thorough answer, Rocky, and the time you took to write it.  I do not have the strong symptoms described in the OP, but I do have some symptoms sometimes that I think may be RH, and I appreciate any information about it, because at just 15 mos after surgery, I expect that my symptoms will increase in the future.  What I have read online in general searches has not been nearly as helpful as the information I have found here, in comments like this one of yours.

Rocky's answer was perfect. And 15 months is about when RH starts for most people.

I've had episodes a few times, but of course only after I've eaten too many simple carbs that I knew I shouldn't. When I stick to my regular eating plan I never have an issue.

Rocky already provided excellent advice about reactive hypoglycemia. (RH)

But there is also simple hypoglycemia.  It is possible to have either one or both. 

Hypoglycemia can be caused by too much fasting insulin - insulinoma, or by cortisol imbalances (adrenal insufficiency) or by other hormonal issues 

If you have RH - that can be controlled by diet... And eating anything with posts of carbs, even complex can cause that.  Starches, fruits, milk, milk products, lean proteins (proteins will cause insulin spike) and so on. Different food can cause the body to release insulin. Google food insulin index. 

I used to have severe RH when I drank low fat -low carbs protein shakes. My BS would not rise, but due to high protein content, highly processed proteins, my body would release massive amount of insulin to process the proteins and with not enough carbs - my BS would crash.. 

Avoiding not only starchy -sugary foods, but only highly processed proteins and eating very balanced food - low carbs, moderate proteins and fat helps me stabilised my BS. I no longer need to eat every 2 hours... I like to... But I don't need to. 

A balanced meal for me would have 20- 30 gr of proteins, 10-20 gr of fat, and up to 10gr of carbs..

But if I get low BS - nut butter is my typical "to go" rescue stuff..